Who Is an Engineer? A Quick Perspective After One Year of a University Engineering Course
In my personal statement sent to universities (which students worry
about too much) to convince them I was a student worth
interviewing, I waxed lyrical about engineering, convinced that I
should at least know what it was if I was applying to read
it.
For sure, I knew enough to know it was the right choice for me, but
I really didn't know what it was, despite significant
research.
In the first year of a general engineering course at a university
like Cambridge you will get an introduction to structures (mainly
truss statics and beam theory), materials, dynamics (including a
course on vibrations), fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, electric
circuits, digital electronics, electromagnetics, about a quarter of
the course will be maths, and there will be various labs. This
probably seems like a daunting list, but you have 3 terms in which
to do it, and it's all one step at a time. If you are capable of
getting the results needed to get in, you are capable of doing the
course.
Most engineering students I have met have taken Maths, Physics,
Further Maths, and Chemistry at A-Level, but some take Electronics
instead of Chemistry if they have that option. The Further Maths is
very helpful, as although it will be recapped in the course, you
have a good head start if you have covered some of the material
before.
Although many people have the title "Engineer", they do very
different things. You will almost certainly not directly use most
of the subjects you learn in the general part of an Engineering
course in your working life; most likely you will focus on one
area, but the general grounding is invaluable in giving you a
variety of problem solving skills, in learning what areas interest
you, and in knowing what other engineers are capable of doing so
you can draw on their expertise in the future. Some courses apply
in some way to most engineering careers though, for example
materials.
You come to realise that there
really are almost as many different engineering jobs as there are
engineers; that your career may very well change as you learn; that
you haven't learned yet the most interesting engineering that you
might do.
Engineering is a great field. There are many permanent careers, and
also a lot of opportunity to shape your own career, and to work for
yourself in some way.
I am less sure now about what I want to specialise in than when I
applied! But I am more aware of the options. For example I had
never considered electronics, but having been taught the first
year, it no longer seems remote and unapproachable. For example I
now know how computer memory modules can be made, starting from the
raw materials (in one sentence, memory can be made from bistables,
which are made from logic gates, which can be made from field
effect transistors, which are made from doped silicon). Fluids is
also new and interesting. Structural engineering seems like a great
area too; a great way to make lasting additions and improvements to
the world.
It is quite interesting to look at the specialities that final-year
engineers have chosen. In 2009, about a quarter chose mechanical
engineering, about a quarter chose structural/civil, about a
quarter chose from a variety of electrical/electronic options,
about an eighth chose aerospace/thermal, and about an eighth chose
energy&environment/life sciences.
In my experience so far, I find that engineers are less likely to
be interested in ceremony and vying for social/academic position
than natscis (natural scientists) and mathmos (mathematicians).
Engineers are doers! There are many great academics in engineering,
but also the best engineers are often those who are happiest to
grapple with the real world rather than abstract academic concepts.
Of course combining both is probably the best way to think about
it.
If you come to Cambridge, study hard in the first term and your
whole year will be easier. At Cambridge, each term is only 8 weeks,
so you always have a near-term change to look forward to. You
should expect to work half or more of the Christmas holiday, and
most of the Easter holiday. If you have time to read one small
paperback in the summer holidays before, read The New Science of
Strong Materials by JE Gordon. Although it was published 40 years
ago, it's written by an experienced engineer who had a very
interesting career, helps with some of the first year new concepts,
and starts to give you an idea of who an engineer is.